711: index (finger) Nov 18, 2016

The finger next to one's thumb goes by many names, including 'first finger', 'forefinger', 'index finger', and 'pointer finger', which is names than any other digit. The word 'index' comes directly from the Latin for ‘forefinger' derived from the verb, 'dicere' meaning ‘say’ and or 'dicare' meaning ‘make known’, which is also the root for 'indicate'. The sense of the word as a part of a book came much later but what it connotes is true to the sense of the word. Around the same time, the 'pointer' of 'pointer finger' began to be used starting in the early 17th century.